Vietnam drew 21 million international visitors in 2025, up 19.8% from 17.6 million the year before, according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism. The government is not chasing volume. It wants higher-spending, longer-staying travellers, and has set a 2030 target of 25 to 28 million arrivals and up to US$40 billion in tourism revenue. Tourism receipts already reached about US$17.6 billion in 2024, near 9.4% of GDP.
The strategy openly borrows from Thailand and Bali — and tries to dodge their overtourism mistakes. Whether the rule on paper matches the rule at the border is the part travellers should watch.
Here is what changed for the traveller. Vietnam stopped wanting backpackers.
The country that built its reputation on cheap hostels and US$5 street food is now spending heavily to reach people who book suites, not dorm beds. The deputy prime minister, Mai Van Chinh, frames it around cuisine, landscape and heritage. The numbers tell the real story. Hanoi has set a 2030 goal of up to US$40 billion in tourism revenue, roughly double its 2024 take.
To get there, Vietnam is copying a playbook it can watch unfold next door. Thailand has cut its visa-free stay from 60 days to 30 to court what it calls “quality tourists.” Bali has spent years arguing about crowds and waste. Vietnam wants the spending without the strain.
That is the tension. You cannot pivot to high-value tourism and keep adding millions of bodies at the same time. The math fights itself. And the part nobody advertises is who pays when growth overshoots.
The pivot is written into policy, not just speeches
Start with the entry rules, because that is where strategy meets the airport. Since 15 August 2023, under Resolution 127/NQ-CP, citizens of every country can apply for a 90-day, multiple-entry e-visa online. The fee is US$25. That replaced a tighter 30-day, single-entry scheme.
A second change matters more for European visitors. Resolution 128/NQ-CP extended visa-free stays for 13 countries — most of Western Europe, plus Japan and South Korea — from 15 days to 45. Alexandra Murray, Hilton’s regional head for Southeast Asia, says relaxed visa rules let people plan trips on shorter notice, and calls Vietnam one of the chain’s fastest-growing markets in the region.
The investment is moving in step. Hanoi has put over US$830 million into a new airport on Phu Quoc, where stricter tourist enforcement is already taking shape, with Sun Group and Singapore’s Changi Airport Group involved. The push is partly timed to the 2027 APEC Summit. Official targets confirm the direction: the government’s Decision 509/QĐ-TTg sets the 2030 revenue goal and the explicit shift toward quality over quantity, detailed in the national tourism authority’s performance and target data.
Le Hong Hiep, Senior Fellow at the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, has written that Vietnam is upgrading its strategy to compete directly with Thailand and Malaysia, leaning on quality and infrastructure while watching overtourism risks. He also flags the catch: build too fast, and you end up with rooms you cannot fill if the surge fades.
Tourism is being run like industrial policy
The gap behind those bars is the point. Thailand still earns far more from far more visitors. Vietnam is trying to skip a step — jump straight to high-spend travel before its crowds reach Thai or Balinese levels.
That is why this looks less like a tourism boom and more like a planned move up the value chain. The country has long leaned on low-margin factory exports. Tourism now offers a way to grow service income, and Hanoi is treating it with the same tools — targeted incentives, mega-projects, hard targets for revenue per visitor.
The risk lives where the slogan meets the street. Official messaging promotes smooth digital visas and modern airports. Anecdotal traveller accounts from 2025 and 2026 suggest a more mixed picture, with occasional last-minute schedule changes on regional flights and patchy waste handling in busy old-town cores. These reports are not systematic, and should be read with care.
So the pivot away from backpackers comes with a buried cost. Build for high spenders, and you raise prices, strain coasts and crowd heritage towns — the very pattern Vietnam says it studied next door. The plan is real. Whether the rules get applied on the ground is the open question.
Beyond the headline
The bigger picture
Vietnam’s tourism surge is not really about beaches and new hotels. It is a deliberate attempt to shift the economy away from low-margin manufacturing into higher-value services that can anchor its middle-income transition. That makes tourism policy look more like industrial policy, complete with targeted incentives and competitor benchmarking, than a passive by-product of cheap flights.
The pattern
Across Southeast Asia, once-budget destinations keep climbing the value chain: Thailand, Bali and now Vietnam have all moved from backpacker circuits to premium resorts and conference hubs. Vietnam is compressing that timeline, trying to leapfrog into the high-spend segment while the overtourism debate is still live next door. That raises the odds of repeating a familiar boom-bust cycle, only faster.
What isn’t being said
Official narratives stress new runways, luxury brands and visitor milestones. They say far less about who carries the cost if growth overshoots — coastal communities facing erosion, heritage districts straining under crowds, informal workers squeezed by prices. Little has been published on enforcement capacity for environmental and zoning rules, so the “sustainable” vision may hinge less on new laws than on whether they are applied.
What this means for your trip and your money
With visa rules loose and infrastructure still being built ahead of 2027, here is how the shift lands depending on what you are planning.
- Western leisure travellers
Confirm your entry rule before you book a flight. US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passports need the 90-day e-visa at US$25; check eligibility and current processing at evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn, since lists change with little notice. If you hold an eligible EU passport, you may not need a visa at all for stays up to 45 days.
- Medical tourists
Vietnam is price-competitive for dentistry and cosmetic work. A single dental implant at JCI-accredited FV Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City is typically quoted around US$1,200–1,500, against US$3,000–4,500 in the US — figures to treat as ballpark, not fixed. Ask about English-speaking international patient teams and bundled hotel packages directly through hospital liaison staff.
- Business and conference travellers
Phu Quoc is being built up for the 2027 APEC Summit, so expect new hotel capacity but also active construction near venues. Book regional flights to Phu Quoc, Da Nang or Nha Trang with buffer time; monsoon-season delays are common. Check your government advisory at travel.state.gov, gov.uk or smartraveller.gov.au before adding secondary stops.
FAQ
Can I extend my Vietnam e-visa or use it for multiple entries?
The 90-day e-visa allows multiple entries during its validity. Extensions are not guaranteed and must be arranged through immigration offices or licensed agents inside Vietnam, with fees and processing times varying by province. If you overstay, you face per-day fines and may have to exit the country before applying for a new e-visa.
How do I reach secondary spots like Phu Quoc or Da Nang?
Phu Quoc, Da Nang, Nha Trang (Cam Ranh) and Da Lat connect to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City by multiple daily flights on Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet and Bamboo Airways, plus trains and buses for budget travel. Schedules can be seasonal and weather disruptions are more common during the monsoon months, so allow buffer time for connections.
Are Vietnamese hospitals set up for foreign patients?
Major hospitals targeting foreign patients, such as FV Hospital and several Vinmec facilities, hold international accreditations and run English-speaking international patient departments. Pre-payment, translation of medical records into English, and advance video consultations are often required. Some providers offer bundled hotel and airport-transfer packages, bookable directly through hospital liaison teams.
Explainer
- Resolution 127/NQ-CP
- This is the Vietnamese government measure that, from 15 August 2023, opened the 90-day, multiple-entry e-visa to citizens of all countries. It replaced a tighter scheme that allowed only 30 days and a single entry. The change quietly made Vietnam one of the easier major Asian destinations to enter on paper, ahead of its luxury push.
- Resolution 128/NQ-CP
- A companion 2023 measure that extended visa-free stays for 13 selected countries from 15 days to 45. The list covers most of Western Europe plus Japan and South Korea, all major source markets for higher-spending visitors. The longer window is aimed at encouraging the slow, repeat travel Vietnam now prizes over quick budget trips.
- APEC Summit
- The annual leaders’ meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which groups 21 economies around the Pacific. Hosting rotates, and Vietnam is set to host on Phu Quoc in 2027. The event is driving the island’s airport and hotel build-out, since host cities must prove they can handle thousands of delegates and tight security on a fixed date.
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- A Singapore-based research body focused on Southeast Asian political, economic and social trends. Its researchers publish widely cited analysis on regional competition and policy. On Vietnam, its work tracks how Hanoi positions its tourism strategy against Thailand and Malaysia, including the overtourism risks the government says it wants to avoid.
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